Lever bolt for trunks and the like



Oct. 19 1926.

C. E. SCHEIDER LEVER BOLT FOR TRUNKS AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 15, 1924 VIII!!! llirlll @(WQM INVENTOR.

W ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 19, 1926.

UNITED STATES CHARLES E. SQHEIDER, F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

LEVER BOLT FOR TRUNKS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed January 15, 1924. Serial No. 686,415.

This invention relates to that class of bolts or fasteners which are commonly employed u on the fronts of trunks, suit cases and the li e, near the opposite ends thereof, one I member being attached to the cover and the other to the body, to draw said cover into tightly closed relation to the body and hold 1t there. I

The objects of the invention are to secure a lever-bolt of pleasing appearance, and one upon which dresses and the like will not catch; to provide a lever-bolt whlch can be made strong and so that its parts cannot esca e from one another; to secure a ll simplifie construction which shall facilitate the assembling of parts and enable the same to be sealed in closed position; to secure an improved spring bearing for the lever memher so that the spring shall exert a continu- 10 one action thereon, and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out by the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate the same parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a face view of the bolt closed or locked, with portions broken away and in section to show the engaging members;

Figure 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 90 of 1, the dash and dot construction showing the open position of the lever and link;

Figure 3 is a face view of the base plate of the main member of the bolt, showing the fastening means for the spring;

Fi ure 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of 1, and

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 55 of 1. In the specific-embodiment of the invention shown in said -drawings, reference numerals 1 and 2 indicate the main and keeper portions respectively of my improved leverbolt, the mam portion 1 being adapted to be secured to the body of a trunk or the like by means of holes 3 in its base plate 4 and the keeper 2 being adapted to be secured to the cover of the trunk or the like by means of holes 5 in its base plate 6, all as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. Both said base plates have marginal flanges, 7 and 8 respectively to engage the surfaces to which they are to be secured, the marginal flange 8 of the keeper being shown cut away as at 9 to receive the valance of the cover of the trunk or the like.

The keeper member 2 has upon the front of its base plate 6 and adjacent to the lower edge thereof a keeper 10 which is shown as stamped out of sheet metal into hollow boxlike form and secured to the base plate 6 by lugs 11 extending therethrough and bent on over. This keeper 10 provides at its end a tongue 12 projectin from the edge of the keeper member whic meets the main member 1 and also provides an o posite undercut hook 13 to receive the l' of the main 5 member hereinafter described.

The main member 1 has upon its base plate 4 and adjacent the edge thereof which meets the keeper member, a boss 14 which is shown as hollow and struck up from sheet metal with lugs 15 to extend through slots in the base plate and be bent over to secure the boss thereto. This boss has an opening at its end next the keeper member to receive the tongue 12 thereon, and at the opposite side of the boss a lever 16 is hinged thereto upon a hinge pin 17, preferably, this hinging is efl'ected b marginal ears 18, 18 upon the lever and a jacent ears 19, 19 upon the boss, all said ears being curled around the so hinge pin 17, and saidhin pin 'being at its ends concealed and hel against longitudinal movement byprojecting portions 20, 20 of the side walls of the boss. Furthermore, the lever 16 has at the hinge pin 17 a central tongue 21 which projects inwardly back of said hinge pin to engage a leaf sprin 22 adapted to hold said lever either close as shown full in Figure 2 or else open as shown in dash and dot lines in Figure 2. In order to give the tongue 21 a bearing for the spring 22 which will enable said spring to throw the lever through a greater range of movement said tongue is at its extremity longitudinally hollowed as 5 at 23, so that in one position the opposite edge walls of said hollowed extremity rest upon the sprin 22 as shown in full lines in Figure 2 an in Figure 4, while in the other or open position of the lever the 1 rounded back of the tongue 21 rests upon the spring as shown in dash and dot hues in Figure 2.

The leaf spring 22 is preferably mounted upon base plate 4 by striking up therefrom a strip 24, see Figure 3 more especially, under which the leaf spring passes, its extremity entering through a slit 25 to lie beneath a struck-up portion 26 whose side opposite the slit 25 is closed. 'After the spring is inserted, the strip 24 can be pressed down upon the spring to hold it, and in this way the spring is held without danger of cracking it by passing a rivet through it or the like.

The lever 16 is a hollow box-like member of sheet metal provided opposite its hinged end with a finger piece 27 which is far enough from the hinge so that the lever closes down upon the base plate 4 beyond the struck-up spring socket 2G and covers the same. Preferably, the side walls of the lever are notched as at 28, in alinement with said struck-up portion 26 so that a wire can be threaded therethrough and its ends receive a seal 29 at the front of the lever to retain the same in closed or locked position, as shown in dash and dot lines in Figures 1 and 2.

To the opposite outer sides of the lever 16 are pivoted the arms 30 of a link 31, said arms being shown as receiving the ends of a pin 32 extending therethrough and through the lever and being riveted or headed over outside said arms. The other end of the link 30 is of box-like formation so as to overlie the keeper l0 and adjacent ortion of the boss 14, as clearly shown in igures 1 and 2, and cover the same and joint between them. The end wall of the box-like portion 33 of the link is inclined as shown at 34 in Figure 2, to hook over the undercut wall of the keeper 10, and preferably the edge of this said wall is curled inward as at 35.

By the construction thus described I not only secure great strength and rigidity but I also secure a very neat and pleasing appearance in that the keeper and its joint with the boss on the main member of the device are covered and concealed. Furthermore, there is little danger of a ladys dress or the like catching in the lever-bolt and becoming torn, as she passes the trunk. These advantages, as well as the other advantages of my improved construction, may be secured in greater or less degree by modifications which could be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I do not wish to be understood as restricting myself except as required by the following claims when construed in the light of the rior art.

avin thus described the invention, what I c aim is:

1. In a fastener of the character described, the combination of a keeper, a boss adapted to aline with said keeper when the fastener is closed, a lever hinged to said boss, and a link hinged to said lever to draw into engagement with said keeper as the lever is swung and having a transversely closed portion which covers the joint between the keeper and boss when the fastener is closed.

2. In a fastener of the character described, the combination of a keeper on one member, a boss on the other member, a lever pivoted to said boss, and a link pivoted to said lever to draw irito engagement with said keeper as the lever is swung and having a transversely closed portion which covers the keeper and the joint between said keeper and boss when the fastener is closed.

3. In a fastener of the character described, the combination of a keeper on one member, a lever pivoted to the other me1nber, and a link pivoted to said lever having an end portion to draw into engagement with said keeper as the lever is swung and a transversely closed front portion which covers the meeting of the two members between said keeper and lever when the fastener is closed.

4. In a fastener of the character described, the combination of a keeper on one member, a lever pivoted to the other member, and a link pivoted to said lever andhaving a box-like end portion to draw into engagement with said keeper and extend therefrom past the joint between the members when the fastener is closed.

5. In a fastener of the character described, the combination of a keeper on one member, a lever pivoted to the other member, .and a link having an end portion to draw into locked engagement with said keeper a transversely closed front portion which covers the meeting of the two members between the keeper and lever when said locked engagement occurs and side portions receiving between themselves said lever and pivotally riveted thereto.

6. In a lever-bolt, a member comprising a base-plate having a raised portion forming a stop and an adjacent raised clamping portion, a leaf spring extending beneath said clamping portion with its end engaging said stop, a lever pivotally mounted on said base-plate and engaged by said spring, and a link pivoted to said lever.

7. In a lever-bolt, a member comprising a base-plate having a raised hollow seat with a slit in one side and having a raised strip adjacent said slit, a leaf spring extending beneath said strip and through said slit into said seat, a lever pivotally mounted on said base-plate and engaged by said spring, and a link pivoted to said lever.

8. In a lever-bolt, a member comprising a base-plate having a raised hollow portion with open ends, a leaf spring on said baseplate having its end engaging said raised hollow portion, a transversely hollowed lever pivotally mounted on the base-plate to cover said raised portion when closed and having in its sides openings at the ends of the raised portion, said lever engaged by said spring, and a link pivoted to said lever, whereby when the lever is closed a wire or the like can be passed through its said side openings and the open ends of the raised portion and secured at the front of the lever to lock it against opening.

9. In a lever-bolt, a member comprising a box-like boss having opposite parallel side portions, a pin extending between said side portions with its ends in abutting relation thereto, a box-like lever, said lever and boss having ears curled around said pin, and a link pivoted to said lever.

10. In a lever-bolt, a member comprising a base-plate, a leaf spring mounted on said base plate, a pivoted lever mounted over said leaf spring and having a tongue with its end transversely bent to form at one side spaced contacts with the spring in one position of the lever and at the other side an intermediate contact with the spring in another position of the lever, and a link pivoted to said lever.

11. In a lever-bolt, a keeper having an undercut side on one member, a lever pivoted to a cooperating member, and a link pivoted to said lever having a box-like end portion to receive said keeper and an inwardly curled end edge to lie beneath the undercut side of the kee 1'.

CHARLES E. SCHEIDER. 

